Play or Pose

Sunday, May 24, 2009; Back to the 80's again

Back in the 80's I shot some portraits for a few Outnumbered records and on Sunday I went down to see them at the Play or Pose reunion concert at the Highdive in Champaign. The Outnumbered are Jonno Peltz, Tim McKeage, Jon Ginoli (Pansy Division), Ken Golub and Paul Budin and they have not played together in almost 20 years.

I pulled into town early so I could shoot the sound check and get a feel for the stage and the lighting. As I was standing in the parking lot talking on the phone when I hooked up with the band, the sound check was pushed back so we went out and grabbed a little lunch at Papa Del's, now I can check that stop off my to do list.

My nephew, Kyle Betts, is in journalism grad school at U of I and there are a lot of people I want to visit in Champaign but this was a pretty quick trip.

At the sound check I found out Highdive is a long skinny venue with a nice lighting setup. I played with some different angles during the sound checks and shot a few things off stage to get a feel for where I wanted to shoot from during the show.

Most concerts are in places that are either to small to use a 300mm lens or you are so far back you need a 300mm just to get a shot of the stage. I could move wherever I wanted so I brought my long glass, my favorite shooting setup is a 300mm and a wide angle with a 70-200 in my bag.

I ran into some friends at the show, Robert Loerzel who writes the Underground Bee, a website dedicated to the music scene, and he was shooting and has some photos posted on his site as well.

As usual it was a little darker during the show but there was a pretty big crowd and the place was hoppin'. I hung out and shot a little of Lonely Trailer but had to get back to Chicago so I missed the last 2 bands Cowboy X and Poster Children. All the bands sounded great and it was fun shooting stage side again.

Here are a three of Outnumbered from the show. Tim tunes up after the sound check. Tim and Jon during the show. Jon and Paul blow flower pedals into the crowd after their final song, Flowers.

-john

To see more photos of the Outnumbered CLICK HERE and a few photos of Cowboy X and Lonley Trailer CLICK HERE.

all photos © John Konstantaras

My next picture

Tuesday, May 19, 2009; Funnin' Roun' in Clownytown

In the early 80's I remember going to a photo conference and listening to former Time Magazine and (at the time) current New York Times photo editor John Durniak speak. One quote from that day has stuck in my head through all these years; "You are only as good as your next picture."

Don't get me wrong, I am proud of my work over the years and I love to look back at my old images but you have to look forward in this business and always be working to improve and make yourself better.

I have always chased every assignment and story as hard as I can, but one of the great things about being your own boss is that you have more time to work on your own stories. For the past 30 years I have been taking notes on people, places and things I might to do stories on. Now I am putting those ideas in order and starting that journey.

So back to the 80's. A few years ago I went out to see my nephew John Leadley perform a stand up comedy act as Jodie Evenson the 80's Clown at a small club in Chicago. John has been doing stand up for a while and created an 80's Clown MySpace page for fun in 2006. It evolved into a real character when someone asked him to do a show in 2007.

I loved his show but spectator seating is not something I am comfortable with, I am always thinking of photo stories and 80's Clown was now on the list.

Tuesday I went down to Martyrs' in Chicago to start a new project and spend a little time with 80's Clown. He performed as part of the variety show "Night of the Living Entertainers" and only had a 5 minute performance but I got there early and hung out as he waited to step on stage. Here are three from the night.

By the way, Jodies's next show is going to be June 30th with Chicago Underground Comedy at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago. I will have more photos later.

-john

To see more photos of 80's Clown CLICK HERE or more from the "Night of the Living Entertainers " event CLICK HERE.

all photos © John Konstantaras

Story hunting

Saturday, May 2, 2009; A morning in the Uvita Market

I have spent the last 3 days in front of computers editing images from a recent tumbling tournament so it is time to take a mental break and dip into some images from my recent trip to Costa Rica.

Uvita is a small town about 20 minutes north of where we stay in southwestern Costa Rica. On Saturday we took our first trip to the weekly market, or the Feria as the locals call it, where people from the area sell everything from orchids and organic groceries to native masks and wildlife photos.

It was a toasty morning with temps in the upper 80’s when I noticed a dog planted in front of a fan, he had the right idea. As I was shooting a few frames of Joe Cool I noticed a man sitting by a table full of wildlife photos.

I have always loved being on the streets because it gave me a reason to walk up to random people and strike up a conversation looking for a good story idea. Brian Nice is the developer of the property where the market is held but he is also a bird lover and it shows in his photos.

Generally I will not stop unless I really like the work and Brian's images are tight, colorful, well composed and he knew everything about each of his subjects. I wandered over and struck up a conversation with wildlife photographer. I have not run into a lot of people with long glass down there and I knew Brian was using at least a 600. We talked a bit about the variety of bird species in the area and how the numbers are dropping, he knows because he keeps a count.

Brian told me a story about how he invited someone to go bird watching with him and they showed up in their gear and climbing boots ready to hit the jungle. Take a seat he told them, he does all his bird watching from his home. He pointed to one of his photos he told me, “This one was taken about 10 meters from where I sleep, that one there about 2 meters.”

At another table a couple was looking over a mask among the homemade made crafts displayed by a Borucan man. The Boruca tribe are known for their art and craftwork, especially weaving and their distinctive painted balsa wood masks. The village is just over an hour drive south up in the mountains.

Many of the pictures I have made on this trip are reminders of stories that I want to follow up on in upcoming adventures. I hope to hang with Brian in the morning birdwatching, work on a story on Costa Rican dogs and spend a little time in the village of Boruca during their annual Danza de los Diablitos ceremony.

-john

all photos © John Konstantaras

Herman Yoder

Friday, May 1, 2009; Dealing treats on the side of the road.

I went light on this trip for the first time, one camera and one lens. I kicked myself a few times when I wanted to back up and shoot a little tighter but this was just a quick getaway trip for us.

Friday morning along the main road in Ojochal we ran into Herman Yoder, a Mennonite from Georgia, with his small table, umbrella and baked goods. Every Friday he travels about an hour and a half north to sell his goods.

Fifty-year-old Yoder has been in Costa Rica for 40 years. “I am not sure if I am a Costa Rican or an American,” he says, “I guess I am both.” He came to the country on a missionary trip and never went back.

Yoder had a few sales while I was hanging out but he says business has been slow lately. With tourism down in the area he says he is feeling the trickle down effect of the slower economy and he has to decide whether he will continue making the trip.

On his table are assorted breads, cookies, pies and cinnamon rolls. We picked up some cinnamon rolls 2500 colones, just under $5.00.

The cinnamon rolls were excellent and I am hoping his is still out there on our next trip.

-john

all photos © John Konstantaras

On the road

Thursday, May 30, 2009; headed down south

Paulette and I made a stop at the HiperMas for groceries and we left San Jose about 6pm to head down south but we got hung up in traffic. There are people selling everything along the roads in Costa Rica, almost anywhere traffic slows down you can buy anything from phone cases and phone chargers to juice and fresh fruit.

Piña? No gracias. Teléfono caso, cargador? No gracias. Chances (lottery ticket)? No gracias? Cigarro? No gracias.

Driving can be rough in Costa Rica and you have 2 choices getting out of the city when heading down south; mountains or ocean.

Along mountain route the roads are winding, driving through the cloud forests the visibility can be bad on a good day and it is easy to get caught behind slow moving trucks.

Along the ocean route, after you pass by a couple big tourist towns, Jaco Beach and Quepos, the next 30 miles along the Costanera Highway are unpaved and can get a bit rough, dusty and slow. Many of the bridges are being replaced but every now and then you run into an "Oh my God Bridge." The roads also have improved but you still need to take it slow on a good part of that trip.

On the upside, during the day the view on the mountain route is breath taking and along the ocean route you can swing by the beach, pick up some KFC and you pass through some pretty cool old towns. Unless you are terrified of heights both routes are worth taking.

My best advice is take your time, drive during the day and enjoy the sites. On that note, I do not always follow my own advice; we took the mountain route at night. Since we got out of town at about 6pm as the light as we were stuck in traffic was sweet, in a half hour we were in the dark and clouds. For most of the next 4 hours it was white knuckle driving.

All gas stations in Costa Rica are full service. Just a few years ago no matter where you stopped they would check your oil and wash your windows. Now that is very spotty, if you ask they will clean your windows.

After a stop in San Isidro for fuel and McDonald's we rolled into Tres Rios at about 10:30 pm.

-john

all photos © John Konstantaras

Hey Amigo

Thursday, April 29, 2009; Dave's new puppy

A few pix of Dave's new puppy Amigo. I think he is part Beagle, part Dachsund, part Tico. The dog has just a little more energy than me. Likes beer. And has a favorite corner on the couch.

-john

all photos © John Konstantaras

Running into news

Wednesday, April 29, 2009; Out in the free world

I shot my first gig last weekend, filled out all my official paperwork for unemployment and now Paulette and I are off to Costa Rica. I guess this is one of the upsides of getting laid off, when we planned this trip a few months ago I could not go because I had to work. By coincidence my good friend Warren Skalski was heading out to Mexico for a getaway on the same day but they had to cancel their trip the night before because of the swine flu outbreak in Mexico.

As we waited for our connecting flight in Miami I started to notice the masks. Anthony Carroll of West Palm Beach, Florida was the first person I saw. He was traveling with his family to Costa Rica and was peaking around the corner checking his flight when he caught my eye.

For journalists airports are a tough place to cover these days. With increased security only ticked passengers are allowed beyond security checkpoints in most cities so I decided to work the situation a little. The swine flu is huge news worldwide and if I could make a few nice frames I could try to send something back to one of the editors I know at AP in Chicago.

I made a few photos of Anthony and his family waiting to board our flight, a few more of other people using scarves to cover their faces and one of a flight attendant wearing a mask but I liked the moment of the family the best.

Since I no longer have my Blackberry and have not transferred the data over to a new device yet I now needed to track down my AP contacts in Chicago. Warren did some legwork for me to get the general e-mail address and I left a voice mail for Keith Swinden, my sports picture editor brother from the Tribune who is also out on the street with me.

Our flight was delayed and as we waited for the airline to remove a few bags from the plane belonging to passengers that did not show up for the flight so I walked over to Anthony and I got his information for a caption. I made a quick in camera edit, knocked out a quick caption I could use later and settled in for the flight.

At San Jose International Airport most of the workers and a handful of passengers wore masks. I knocked off a few frames of people walking through the airport and workers in the Immigration line, something I would never try in the US these days since I would certainly be detained and most likely arrested. As we picked up our bags the one with all my clothes was left behind in Miami. We made our way out of the airport and time clock was ticking for getting a photo sent out.

In the news business if you cannot turn your photos around right away they are not usable. First thing I had to do was download the card, edit and caption a few photos. Unfortunately, I could not get my card reader to work; everyday is a lesson in problem solving.

We tracked down an Office Depot and I picked up a new reader for about 6,000 colones (about 12 bucks.) The card popped up on my computer but the files would not copy, more errors. Next the card was showing no photos. I had to run Photo Rescue software on the card but was still not having a lot of luck. I managed to pull off about a half dozen photos but another 122 would not copy, 6 will do.

Finally, I was able to get online and the contact info from Keith was there. It was late in the day, we had not slept all night getting ready for the trip and by this time I am sure the wires were overloaded with images of people in masks from all over so I decided to chalk this one up as a learning experience for the freelance news business.

The next day Paulette had a bit of a cough so we went to a pharmacy to get her some cough medicine. They were pretty busy selling masks and their first worry is if you have the swine flu. How many days have you been sick and do you have a fever were the two questions they wanted to know. After giving Paulette some cough medicine the pharmacist asked, “How many masks do you want?” We figured we would join the hip crowd so we grabbed 5 masks, more on that later.

Here are 3 from the start of our trip.

Note to self; get your contacts in orders, get a wireless card and carry a spare card reader.

john

all photos © John Konstantaras

Back in the saddle

Sunday, June 24, 2009: USTA Northern Illinois State

I started writing this post and ended up on a completely different topic and about dreaming that I will get back to in a few posts after I track down a few photos I can use with it.

So here is where we are today. It is 6:45am and I am sitting in the quiet on my hotel lobby in Romeoville, IL with a cup of coffee and a head full of thoughts. Sleep has not come easy this week. I have not gone to sleep in the same calendar day I woke up since Wednesday. Wednesday night I went to bed at 11am Thursday morning for a few hours, Thursday I fell asleep for about 5 hours from 5am to 10am and Friday I crashed for about 3 hours before heading out on my weekend.

Now I am not clearing out my liquor cabinet or sitting around all depressed I am just moving forward and I have a lot on my plate. I have always been a night person but working on the sports picture desk for the last 6 years mornings have not been something I have seen a lot of. This too will change.

Leaving the Tribune was a sad day for me but in many ways I am really excited about the journey ahead of me. I better stop here or I will be writing a completely different blog again and lose this moment.

This weekend is the Northern Illinois USTA Trampoline and Tumbling state meet. My wife and kids have been involved with the sport for a long time and I have been shooting photos at meets for about 10 years now. TNT tournaments consist of 3 events; Trampoline, Tumbling and Double Mini-Trampoline.

Saturday I worked about a 13-hour day of running and shooting. We got to the venue at 7:40am and went to grab dinner at about 8pm. As we were leaving Romeovile High School last night I was relieved that it was such a short day. You see if it were not for the events on Wednesday I would have shot till 3pm, jumped in my car to be at the Tower by 4pm and worked till 1am. So my 13-hour day would have been more like an 18-hour day, not including the drive time.

I began shooting tumbling and trampoline tourneys to keep in photo shape, refining my timing and focusing skills; shoot tight and shoot sharp. Making a few photos to use on the 5-Star Academy website now I am working it a little harder to shoot all the teams. Like all other sports I shoot getting a great action shot under poor lighting conditions is the goal but my favorites are usually the little moments on the side. I will do more on TNT in the future.

So I am off to races again. Tumbling starts at 8:30am and I will be at the venue by 8am. Since I still have to look though a few thousand photos to pick 3 for this post tumbling will be over by the time I get this posted. I will have to work on setting aside a few moments during the day so I can post faster in the future.

Three photogs over 2 days we shot about 26226 frames, now I have to look through the files, create thumbnails and upload them to the web. That is a bout three or four very long days with very little sleep, fits my schedule perfectly.

Here are a few I liked from the weekend.

john

all photos © John Konstantaras